As an example - The Philadelphia Folk Festival (until last year the longest continuously runny Folk Festival) before internal mismanagement by paid staff and board (now gone) put it in a nearly $200K deficit - is planning to return this August creating itself from ground level. A new volunteer board and no paid staff for the Philadelphia Folksong Society - which runs the Festival - will shrink some but there are ticket sales (with no performers announced). No big acts like Michael Franti or Aressted Development, but 500+ artists from around the world have submitted to perform. Sadly Noel never played the fest nor Mary, but Peter did at least twice. FolkAlliance this year (with Noel) drew 2400 attendees to Kansas City. And I met a lot of young (21-30 year olds who are sharing their talent with words and music.
Revival seems to me to be inevitable given the rollicking state of mass media and the ease of recording, mixing and the rest. We may see a shift; not a sea change, but a shift in focus from Western folk sources to those of African, Asian and Middle Eastern cultures. No matter what, it should be a nice ride.
I think there is indeed a revival, but currently one has to seek out where the folk/acoustic music is. I recently watched an indie move (A Chance Encounter) about a wandering folk singer played by Andrea von Kampen. I'd never heard of her, but she looked like she knew her way around the fretboard, so I looked her up on YouTube and saw that she had four albums and was doing a 20+ city tour at small venues. Under "related videos," I saw two more acoustic-based artists, all recording for small indie labels. I'd never heard of any of them but was very encouraged. They're out there but don't necessarily have a lot of visibility. When we come across these hidden gems, I think we need to network to help give them a wider audience.
Like the strings of Noel Paul Stookey’s guitar, this newsletter offers a place of connection, vibration, resonance, and creation. At the end of each post we try to connect with (link to) our sources and other musicians, like those who are a part of Music to Life. It is also a place of connection with our readers as we work on the final part of Noel’s biography, which is focused on music, faith, and justice. (See our post "Show Your Work," about sharing our process.) And STRINGS is a place to discover resonance between Noel’s music and some leading voices in progressive Christianity today like Brian McLaren, Norman Wirzba, Diana Butler Bass, and Richard Rohr. We'll be doing more of that soon. Thanks for your question.
Thanks for checking in on the ages and gender identification of those artists listed for the purposes of this article; I'm sorry that our net wasn't broader and appreciate your comment. A quick glance at Music to Life's artist roster might give you some of the diversity you're seeking within the younger queer and trans community as well as artists who work with youth in this area (https://www.musictolife.org/artists/). I'd welcome your thoughts on emerging folk artists in the LGB+TQIA2S community as well. Again, we appreciate your reaching out to ensure a fully inclusive lens on the new folk revival.
As a Gordon Lightfoot fan, we can only hope folk is coming back.
As an example - The Philadelphia Folk Festival (until last year the longest continuously runny Folk Festival) before internal mismanagement by paid staff and board (now gone) put it in a nearly $200K deficit - is planning to return this August creating itself from ground level. A new volunteer board and no paid staff for the Philadelphia Folksong Society - which runs the Festival - will shrink some but there are ticket sales (with no performers announced). No big acts like Michael Franti or Aressted Development, but 500+ artists from around the world have submitted to perform. Sadly Noel never played the fest nor Mary, but Peter did at least twice. FolkAlliance this year (with Noel) drew 2400 attendees to Kansas City. And I met a lot of young (21-30 year olds who are sharing their talent with words and music.
Thanks for your example.
Revival seems to me to be inevitable given the rollicking state of mass media and the ease of recording, mixing and the rest. We may see a shift; not a sea change, but a shift in focus from Western folk sources to those of African, Asian and Middle Eastern cultures. No matter what, it should be a nice ride.
I think there is indeed a revival, but currently one has to seek out where the folk/acoustic music is. I recently watched an indie move (A Chance Encounter) about a wandering folk singer played by Andrea von Kampen. I'd never heard of her, but she looked like she knew her way around the fretboard, so I looked her up on YouTube and saw that she had four albums and was doing a 20+ city tour at small venues. Under "related videos," I saw two more acoustic-based artists, all recording for small indie labels. I'd never heard of any of them but was very encouraged. They're out there but don't necessarily have a lot of visibility. When we come across these hidden gems, I think we need to network to help give them a wider audience.
What is this link to "strings"??
Like the strings of Noel Paul Stookey’s guitar, this newsletter offers a place of connection, vibration, resonance, and creation. At the end of each post we try to connect with (link to) our sources and other musicians, like those who are a part of Music to Life. It is also a place of connection with our readers as we work on the final part of Noel’s biography, which is focused on music, faith, and justice. (See our post "Show Your Work," about sharing our process.) And STRINGS is a place to discover resonance between Noel’s music and some leading voices in progressive Christianity today like Brian McLaren, Norman Wirzba, Diana Butler Bass, and Richard Rohr. We'll be doing more of that soon. Thanks for your question.
I understand the universality of Spotify but I am still boycotting it over the Joe Rogan fiasco.
Also, many of the *known* folksingers mentioned are 45-60+. And mostly straight. Anybody looking at the LGB+TQIA2S community?
Thanks for checking in on the ages and gender identification of those artists listed for the purposes of this article; I'm sorry that our net wasn't broader and appreciate your comment. A quick glance at Music to Life's artist roster might give you some of the diversity you're seeking within the younger queer and trans community as well as artists who work with youth in this area (https://www.musictolife.org/artists/). I'd welcome your thoughts on emerging folk artists in the LGB+TQIA2S community as well. Again, we appreciate your reaching out to ensure a fully inclusive lens on the new folk revival.
will look when I have a chance